RCONN@SIMTEL20.ARPA (Rick Conn) (07/17/86)
The August 1986 issue of "The Institute" by the IEEE (this is
Vol 10, Number 8) has a front-page article entitled "Air Force
Proposal to Restrict Databases Faces Stiff Opposition". If the Air
Force gets its way, our freedom to interact with our colleagues
throughout the "free world" could be severly impacted. From the
article:
"The IEEE has strongly opposed a tentative plan by the U.S.
Air Force to restrict the access of non-U.S. citizens to unclassified
electronic databases.
"As part of their ongoing effort to keep Soviet bloc agents
from learning about U.S. high technology, Air Force officials are
considering restricting both Government databases -- like the National
Technical Information Service of the U.S. Commerce Department -- and
private services -- such as Chemical Abstracts ... and Lockheed
Corp.'s Dialog ... .
"The Air Force has proposed that unclassifed but "sensitive"
information ... be removed from these open databases and placed in a
special one that only U.S. citizens could access."
The article goes on ...
"Restrictions could help Soviets
"In a letter to the Air Force in May, Benjamin J. Leon,
chairman of the IEEE Technology Transfer Committee, stated: "Any
restrictions placed on access to these databases would impede the
ability of the United States to advance both military and civilian
technology."
"Leon suggested that creating a special database with
sensitive information might actually hinder allies of the United
States and help its adversaries.
"Free World engineers may find it easier to redo the work
rather than to make application for access to export-controlled
information," Leon wrote. "However, the Eastern bloc countries,
discovering this source of valuable information in one repository,
will likely expend substantial amounts of money to gain access to the
database, with certain success."
Later ...
"Kenneth Allen, vice president of government relations for the
Information Industries Association, said the association is forming a
group of members to "deal with the issue." The IIA is "very
concerned" about potential restrictions, he said. Allen is also
organizing a seminar on the proposed database restrictions this fall,
with speakers from the American Civil Liberties Union, the American
Library Association, and other groups that he said share the IIA's
concern."
Finally ...
"The Air Force's study of electronic databases did not derive
from specific incidents ... so much as from "concern about technology
transfer in general."
"That concern was summed up ... in a report issued by the
Departement of Defense last year, called "Soviet Acquisition of
Militarily Significant Western Technology: An Update."
"The report charged that "Western products and technology
secrets are being systematically acquired by intricately organized,
highly effective collection programs specifically targeted to improve
Soviet military weapon systems. ... Targets include defense
contractors, manufacturers, foreign trading firms, academic
institutions, and electronic databases."
"The report also singled out several IEEE meetings for
allegedly having helped the Soviets build better radar systems ...
The DOD has never offered any evidence to support these claims."
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